Book Review — Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoet, and Helge Dascher (translator)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Beautiful Darkness is a hard book to summarize, as there is so much going on in it, but I will do my best! Aurora is a girl who wants to marry her prince. But when a catastrophe strands her and many other little people in the wilderness, it is up to them to work together to survive. However, whether they will truly work together in harmony would remain to be seen.
I truly loved this book. First because the art is so gorgeous, I could just sit for hours perusing these beautiful illustrations. The characters are drawn such that you would think that this is a book for children, but it is deceiving, making the atmosphere of the story very unsettling.
Second, because of the themes. Picture Alice in Wonderland meets Thumbelina meets Lord of the Flies and you have Beautiful Darkness. And with all of those, there is the underlying question of what happens when we die. All of the little people, Aurora included, are forced out of the body of a dead girl, supposedly the real, human form of Aurora. The question is, do all of our little quirks, our many little personality traits survive after death? They do in this book, as little people with strong personalities, though often not for very long. Aurora, as the main consciousness of this girl, does.
There are some graphic images and themes in this book, so do remember that before going in to read it. However I absolutely recommend this book, for the art, the whimsy, and the dark realities that folk tales bring to everyday life.
